Monday, January 12, 2015

Midlake interview, 2010

Eric Pulido of Midlake interview

Originally published in Big Takeover Magazine

fall 2010

written by Daniel Coston

While some bands prefer to spend their life in the studio, the Texas
quintet Midlake welcomed its recent return to the road with open arms.
“For us, having taken such a long break, it was quite refreshing to
just change gears, and do something other than record in the studio,
or rehearse in the studio,” says guitarist Eric Pulido. “To get out
and play again, it was a great joy, and felt like a band again.
The reason for the band’s return is their new album The Courage Of
Others, which took much longer to create than the band had planned.
“It was quite frustrating. We didn’t know what the next record was
going to be. We just had some songs that [singer] Tim [Smith] had
written while touring with [2006 album The Trials Of Van
Occupanther],” says Pulido. “It took a year of trial and errors, and
frustrations, of sorting out what we were going to do next. I really
mean it when I say it was frustrating,because we got nothing. We
learned what not to do, a lot, we learned to play together, more so.”
Along the way, the band found a new sound steeped in the influences of
late 1960s and early ‘70s British folk, rock and jazz, such as
Pentangle, Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention. “We were digesting
these influences, and many more, and trying to not do it in a pastiche
way,” says Pulido. “It was us really trying to interpret these
influences in our own voice. We would always talk about this emotion
that was in this music, and have that be a big part of the sound, and
the vibe.”
For many Midlake fans, the sound of the new album has come as a huge
departure from Van Occupanther, which had taken its cues from the
likes of Fleetwood Mac, America and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Yet the
band’s sound has changed with every record in their ten-year history.
“It has been different,” adds Pulido. “Not for the sake of being
different. I think we would be totally happy, and we wouldn’t have as
many gray hairs if we said, ‘Okay, this is the sound, this is what we
were doing.’ But it wouldn’t be honest, it would be forced.
“Each album is a snapshot of where you’re at that time, and Van
Occupanther will always be there. We’ll play those songs live, and we
still enjoy that. This [new record] was something else. I think we
felt confident that if we’re going to continue being a band, you’ve
got to go with what’s moving you at that time.”
With touring planned for much of the remaining year, Pulido and
Midlake are looking forward to wherever they go next. “Now that
there’s three albums under our belt, you feel like you’re finding your
place a little more. And know where you’ve been, the mistakes you’ve
made, and know where you want to go next.”

About Me

I have been a traveler, a documentarian, an enjoyer of life, a survivor, a lead character, a supporting role, a storyteller, an excitable boy, a quiet soul, and an occasional thinker. All when the world asked me to, or all at the same time.